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Tanya W Haynes
Professor Brenda Stephens
Engl 1053 Writing for Adults
27 April 2014
Either You Will or They Will
Two things are guaranteed in life. To be born and to die. If you are fortunate enough to
be reading this, then two things are for sure, you are alive and you are not dead. But suppose
death knocked on your door before you finished your sentence. What would happen to the house
you just sent in the mortgage payment on, the car you just paid the note on and the bank account
from which you just withdrew one hundred dollars? If you have an attorney drafted Last Will &
Testament, then you already know what will happen. If you dont, then the state in which you
reside will say what will happen. Who better to say what will happen to the things you have
worked for than you?
How do you say to whom your things pass when you are dead? A Last Will & Testament
speaks for a decedent when they have passed away. The Last Will & Testament is as if the
decedent is speaking from the grave giving instructions to the executor as to how their items are
to be disbursed. Family dynamics can be taken into consideration when drafting a will verses
leaving it to laws to decide. For example, if a husband and wife have been separated for 30 years,
but never divorced and the husband dies without an attorney drafted Last Will & Testament, then
under certain laws, the wife can take a portion of the husbands estate. It is essential that a Last
Will & Testament be drafted by an attorney in order to ensure a properly executed will. A
homemade will is a will that is usually written by the decedent themselves and is usually not
properly executed according to the probate law statutes. A Last Will & Testament allows for
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flexibility in creating trust(s) that provide for surviving spouses and/or minor children under the
guidelines set forth by the decedent. For example, if a decedent is divorced with minor children,
the decedents Last Will & Testament can set up a trust whereby the minor children can be
supported financially thru the trust until they are of age to inherit the remaining proceeds
directly.
A Last Will & Testament appoints an individual to be the executor of the decedents
estate. It can also appoint an individual as trustee of their trust, guardian of their minor or
incapacitated children, as well as alternates for all appointed persons. A decedent can also
expressly disinherit an individual in their Last Will & Testament. Some decedents also dictate
how their body is to be interned. For example, a decedent wising to be cremated can include their
desires in their Last Will & Testament. Verses a decedent without a will that wishes the same
and the family not being agreement with the decedent being cremated.
The Bible says, It is appointed unto man once to die, so wouldnt you rather die
knowing that you had left specific instructions as to how the things you worked so very hard for
will be distributed. Or you can die without a will and let your state law give your wife, which
tried to stab you with a butchers knife before she left town with your best friend, all of your
assets.